The guy in the background looks justifiably shocked. And yet is doing nothing.

In the South during the civil rights movement, the American flag was a potent symbol of support for racial integration (and support for federal law). Southerners who believed in racial segregation displayed Confederate flags instead. People were pulled from their cars by policemen and beaten simply for displaying an American flag on their license plates. So the simple act of a small child carrying an American flag represented defiance of Mississippi law and custom.

Anthony and his mother were arrested and hauled off to jail, which was a cattle stockade at the county fairground, since the city jails were already full of protesters. The Quinn protest was organized by COFO (Council of Federated Organizations), an umbrella organization responsible for most civil rights activities in the state. Today Anthony lives in Florida. I believe he is a lawyer…

Yesterday, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters indicted Cincinnati University Police Officer Ray Tensing on 1st degree murder charges for violently killing 43-year-old Sam DuBose 10 days ago.1 Unfortunately, what’s shocking about this case is not just the vile racism and brutality of Officer Tensing’s actions, but the fact that he was charged and how quickly.

For every 1,000 people killed by police only 1 police officer is ever convicted of a crime.2 And yesterday’s rare indictment is both an important step forward and a painful reminder of the countless other Black families who have lost a loved one to police violence and will likely never have their day in court. While police are murdering Black people with impunity, our national leaders have done little more than offer superficial reforms at best and endorse systemic racism and abusive policing at worst.3 It’s time to hold their feet to the fire.

Next week, Cleveland will host the 1st Republican presidential debate. We’ve purchased 9 billboards right outside the convention center. Will you chip in $20 to cover the costs and make sure the crisis of discriminatory policing is front and center at this debate and beyond?

The above images reference the tragic police killings of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, 22-year-old John Crawford, and 37-year-old Tanisha Anderson, respectively.4,5,6 All three were killed by Ohio police in the last year and not one of the abusive and discriminatory police who killed them have faced any criminal charges. In fact, they are all still employed as police officers. And in every single one of these cases it was not the first time these officers had killed or harmed a Black person — and it likely won’t be the last.7

The Department of Justice and local prosecutors that have failed to hold these officers accountable are responsible for the unconscionable loss of Black life we have seen in the past year. Mike Brown, VonDerrit Myers, Eric Garner, Rekia Boyd, Tamir Rice, Tanisha Anderson, Yuvette Henderson, Freddie Gray, Mya Hall, Sandra Bland, Sam DuBose, Kindra Chapman, Ralkina Jones, and Jonathan Sanders, just to name a few. Make no mistake, the challenge before us is centuries old. But the growing awareness around police killings has created a new opportunity to hold our leaders accountable and win the type of transformative change that can finally put an end to this madness.

It’s likely that without these billboards, Republican candidates will ignore systemic racism and discriminatory policing in next week’s debate. That no one will raise the fact that police kill Black Americans at nearly the same rate as Jim Crow era lynchings and more than 175 Black people have been killed by police this year alone.8,9But we cannot afford to allow this dangerous silence to continue. The billboards around the convention center will honor Tamir, Tanisha and John, while probing debate moderators to ask the questions we need answered:

Does the GOP support responsible body camera policies? Will candidates support a national database documenting police practices? Does the GOP support the federal government continuing to militarize police? How can we expect police to police themselves when one of their own commits a crime? Should cops with a history of racism and abuse still have jobs?We need both parties — Republicans and Democrats — to place the issues of mass incarceration and policing at the center of their policy agendas if we ever hope to see any kind of real change at the federal level.

Climate change is wreaking havoc on our planet — and scientists are literally crying in despair. The biggest climate summit of the decade is just four months away. If we can pack the streets at the largest climate march in history we can get our leaders to agree to end fossil fuels for good — join now!

T-Shirt & Boxed Water 8 Pack

Let’s call this the “I dig Boxed Water starter-kit.” Want to try our product and support the brand with a beautifully simple t-shirt? This is the perfect setup.

You’ll receive a t-shirt with our logo on the front and our famous “hello” script on the back in the size of your selection and a eight 500mL boxed waters (approx. 16oz) in our amazing new 8 pack carrier carefully packed and shipped to your door.

**SHIPPING INCLUDED**

Boxed Water 12 Pack

Are we not available in your area yet? Get 12 of our 500ml waters delivered to your door for right around the same price as purchasing them in-store. Nice and simple. **SHIPPING INCLUDED**

Where can I find Boxed Water?

Boxed Water is available in over 6,000 stores in the U.S. and we’re growing distribution in Canada and Mexico. We’re adding stores so quickly its challenging to keep an up-to-date list here on the site…good problem to have!

Thanks to the women in this room and people all across the country, we worked really hard — and it’s now been more than three years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and I signed it into law. It’s been nearly a year since the Supreme Court upheld the law under the Constitution. And, by the way, six months ago, the American people went to the polls and decided to keep going in this direction. So the law is here to stay.

I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and going forward, by making sure that the law is applied as it should be — in a fair and impartial way.

They exemplified the very idea of citizenship — that with our God-given rights come responsibilities and obligations to ourselves and to others. They embodied that idea. That’s the way they died. That’s how we must remember them. And that’s how we must live.